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Francis Pfost was a communications officer for the CIA before he became a teacher. He currently works as a Spanish 2 and 3 teacher for IB. While there were some cons to working for the CIA, Dr. Pfost regards his time spent serving his country fondly and even misses some of the aspects of his job.

Pfost had previously earned a Masters degree in international affairs from Florida State University and had served in the military, so he chose to pursue a career that would aid his country.

“I felt qualified due to my background in international affairs and I was interested in serving my country so I applied after I got out of the military,” said Pfost.

Although he was accepted into the organization, Dr.Pfost was not immediately given a prestigious job; he had to work up the ranks.

“I started off as a paper shuffler when I first joined in the 70’s,” said Pfost.

However, as he gained experience Pfost was offered more interesting work as CIA analyst. As an analyst Pfost was required to evaluate information from any available source.

“When I worked as an analyst I interpreted information gathered from agents in the field. Sometimes I worked with counter intelligence or the FBI when they needed someone who could speak Russian,” said Pfost.

Pfost’s final job in the CIA was as a communications officer. Communication officers are required to support public, internal, and media communications.

“When I worked in communications I mostly interviewed people traveling from Russia to see if they had any important information for the government. I also interviewed defector agents and then wrote reports,” said Pfost.

The CIA is a job for those who have a passion for serving their country and meeting well-educated people and do not mind having a moderate degree of job insecurity and having their freedom slightly impeded.

“All my vacations had to be approved before I could travel. At the end of the Cold War I was fired; It’s not necessarily secure employment. However, I miss a lot of the people I worked with,” said Pfost.

Overall, joining the CIA is a great service to the U.S, despite the sacrifices one has to make.